Tsonga

Tsonga, also spelled Thonga , culturally similar Bantu-speaking peoples inhabiting the southern coastal plain of Mozambique, parts of Zimbabwe and Swaziland, and the Transvaal of South Africa. They numbered some 4.6 million in the late 20th century.

The Tsonga were formerly organized as independent peoples, each occupying its own territory and named for a powerful, dominant patrilineage. Early in the 19th century, however, they were conquered by other Nguni-speaking peoples.

Tsonga economy is based on mixed agriculture and pastoralism. Cassava is the staple; corn (maize), millet, sorghum, and other crops are also grown. Women do much of the agricultural work, although some men grow cash crops. Most Tsonga now depend on wage labour for cash, many migrating to Zimbabwe or South Africa to find work.

The settlement pattern is characterized by scattered villages of mud and wattle huts, each village being occupied by members of a patrilineage; descent, succession, and inheritance are also patrilineal. Polygyny is common, and a bride-price is paid. A man’s livestock is apportioned among his wives for their support and for eventual inheritance by the children of each household. Widows are supported by males of the dead husband’s lineage.

Although many Tsonga are Christian, many also adhere to their own traditional religion, which entails constant attention to the propitiation of ancestral spirits. Illness and other misfortunes are usually attributed to the breaking of a taboo, to the anger of an ancestor, or to sorcery.

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...Sotho, Pedi, and Tswana. Speakers of Sotho-Tswana languages constitute a majority in many Highveld areas. The other two primary linguistic groups are the Tsonga (or Shangaan) speakers (primarily the Tsonga peoples), concentrated in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, and the Venda speakers (primarily the Venda peoples), located largely in Limpopo province.

former nonindependent Bantustan, northeastern Transvaal, South Africa, designated for the Shangaan and Tsonga people. It was made up of four detached portions of low veld, two of which adjoined Kruger National Park. The Tsonga people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, were joined by 19th-century Shangaan migrants from what is now Mozambique, culminating in a final wave of refugees after...

The Tsonga, also called Thonga, are a people of southern Africa. They live mainly on the southern coastal plain of Mozambique and in parts of Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and South Africa. They speak Tsonga, also called Xitsonga or Shangaan, one of South Africa’s 11 official languages.